The field of the present invention is enclosed storage boxes employed with trucks.
Trucks having an open bed are typically employed for hauling a great variety of things. In this they offer substantial utility and convenience. However, it is often desirable to carry tools and other valuable or vulnerable items which are easily conveyed by the truck but which are inconvenient or impossible to store in the cab of the truck. Consequently, a need has long existed for enclosed storage on such trucks.
Enclosed storage modules have long been available for such trucks in at least partial satisfaction of that need. The locations have varied for placement of the modules. Such enclosed storage has been positioned between the cab and the bed such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,358, in the bed such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,414, and in externally accessible portions of the cab such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,430. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.
There is a great diversity of need regarding such enclosed storage. Some uses would admit of a large cavity while others would suggest drawers, for example. Vehicle manufacturers provide a limited number of stock items to insure low cost vehicle production. With regard to pickup trucks, there are stock cab sizes available for a given vehicle frame. Such would include a regular cab, a crew cab and a cab with a small utility seat behind the driver. The same is true for stock pickup truck beds. Effectively, they come in different lengths to match the cab on the stock vehicle frame. Further, stock vehicle frames of different lengths are also available.
Enclosed storage on pickup trucks typically requires compatibility with the truck. For example, enclosed storage outside the cab can take up space otherwise available in the truck bed. Camper shells and covers designed to mate with such pickup beds are also typically incompatible with the provision of enclosed storage such as providing drawers within the truck bed.